Gun buyers get more scrutiny in state, nationwide

Background checks up 28 percent in 2012 in Alabama, FBI says

he National Instant Criminal Background Check System showed that background checks increased from 10.8 million in 2011 to 13.78 million last year. In Alabama, background checks for potential firearm purchases increased by 95,254 from 2011 to 2012, an increase of 28.3 percent.

Staff File Photo

By Dana BeyerleMontgomery Bureau Chief

Published: Friday, January 11, 2013 at 3:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, January 10, 2013 at 10:36 p.m.

MONTGOMERY | Gun background checks surged by 28 percent in Alabama and nationwide since 2011, according to the FBI.

The National Instant Criminal Background Check System showed that background checks increased from 10.8 million in 2011 to 13.78 million last year.

In Alabama, background checks for potential firearm purchases increased by 95,254 from 2011 to 2012, an increase of 28.3 percent.

In 2011, a record 336,102 instant background checks were conducted in Alabama. But 2012 broke that record when the NICS conducted 431,356 background checks.

Nationally, the number of background checks was 58.6 percent more in December 2012, when 2.24 million were checked, than in December 2011, when 1.4 million checks were conducted.

The mass killings of 26 people, including 20 children, last month in Newtown, Conn., prompted renewed calls for controls of weapons, especially ­assault-type rifles, and even confiscation.

One background check does not directly correlate to a firearm sale or transfer, since a small number of purchasers are turned down and one instant check can be made for multiple firearm purchases.

The National Sports Shooting Foundation reported that December 2012 was the 31st straight month that adjusted NICS figures have increased when compared to the same period the previous year.

“The number reported for December 2012 is the highest monthly figure ever reported for NICS, eclipsing the previous high in November 2012 by 46.7 percent,” said the NSSF, which is located in Newtown.

Alabama's 28.3 percent increase in NICS checks was fifth highest among Southern states for 2011 to 2012.

Virginia was first with an increase of 35.4 percent, followed by South Carolina's 34.4 percent, North Carolina's 30.4 percent and Florida's 29.7 percent. Then came Alabama followed by Georgia's 26.5 percent, Louisiana's 23.3 percent, Mississippi's 20.1 percent, Arkansas's 19.3 percent and Tennessee's 16.2 percent.

Utah's NICS percentage was the only one to decrease from 2011 to 2012. Lance Tyler, the Brady Section supervisor for the Bureau of Criminal Identification, said the number of NICS checks included multiple crosschecks of permit holders, which inflated 2011's numbers when compared with 2012's.

NICS checks are required under the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993. They began on Nov. 30, 1998.

The FBI said NICS is used by federal firearms licensees to instantly determine whether a prospective buyer is eligible to buy firearms or explosives. Out of more than 100 million checks, 700,000 were denials, the FBI said.

NICS checks have increased since President Barack Obama began his first term in January 2009 out of fear he would begin gun control efforts. He has not pushed it but in the wake of the Newtown school murders, he said he wants to curtail gun violence.

<p>MONTGOMERY | Gun background checks surged by 28 percent in Alabama and nationwide since 2011, according to the FBI.</p><p>The National Instant Criminal Background Check System showed that background checks increased from 10.8 million in 2011 to 13.78 million last year.</p><p>In Alabama, background checks for potential firearm purchases increased by 95,254 from 2011 to 2012, an increase of 28.3 percent.</p><p>In 2011, a record 336,102 instant background checks were conducted in Alabama. But 2012 broke that record when the NICS conducted 431,356 background checks.</p><p>Nationally, the number of background checks was 58.6 percent more in December 2012, when 2.24 million were checked, than in December 2011, when 1.4 million checks were conducted. </p><p>The mass killings of 26 people, including 20 children, last month in Newtown, Conn., prompted renewed calls for controls of weapons, especially ­assault-type rifles, and even confiscation. </p><p>One background check does not directly correlate to a firearm sale or transfer, since a small number of purchasers are turned down and one instant check can be made for multiple firearm purchases.</p><p>The National Sports Shooting Foundation reported that December 2012 was the 31st straight month that adjusted NICS figures have increased when compared to the same period the previous year. </p><p>“The number reported for December 2012 is the highest monthly figure ever reported for NICS, eclipsing the previous high in November 2012 by 46.7 percent,” said the NSSF, which is located in Newtown.</p><p>Alabama's 28.3 percent increase in NICS checks was fifth highest among Southern states for 2011 to 2012.</p><p>Virginia was first with an increase of 35.4 percent, followed by South Carolina's 34.4 percent, North Carolina's 30.4 percent and Florida's 29.7 percent. Then came Alabama followed by Georgia's 26.5 percent, Louisiana's 23.3 percent, Mississippi's 20.1 percent, Arkansas's 19.3 percent and Tennessee's 16.2 percent.</p><p>Utah's NICS percentage was the only one to decrease from 2011 to 2012. Lance Tyler, the Brady Section supervisor for the Bureau of Criminal Identification, said the number of NICS checks included multiple crosschecks of permit holders, which inflated 2011's numbers when compared with 2012's.</p><p>NICS checks increased by 25.05 percent in California, from 905,701 in 2011 to 1.13 million last year. Texas saw NICS checks increase 24.3 percent.</p><p>NICS checks are required under the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993. They began on Nov. 30, 1998.</p><p>The FBI said NICS is used by federal firearms licensees to instantly determine whether a prospective buyer is eligible to buy firearms or explosives. Out of more than 100 million checks, 700,000 were denials, the FBI said.</p><p>NICS checks have increased since President Barack Obama began his first term in January 2009 out of fear he would begin gun control efforts. He has not pushed it but in the wake of the Newtown school murders, he said he wants to curtail gun violence.</p>